Curved roadways can be a significant source of roadway departures. Some possible causes for such mistakes include the driver being distracted and not identifying the upcoming curve in time to slow down with the result being that the vehicle enters the curve too fast; the driver being drowsy or intoxicated and not providing the correct steering action required to successfully negotiate the curve; the driver intentionally approaching the curve at a high speed while driving aggressively and overestimating his or her or the vehicle's capabilities in a curve; or the driver underestimating the weather conditions.
It is known in the prior art to use forward-looking sensors to attempt to identify upcoming curves in the roadway. But such sensors are limited in range and therefore cannot identify curves substantially in advance of encountering them and so may not identify or determine the existence of the curve, a dangerous characteristic of the curve, or other potentially dangerous situational factors (e.g., severity of the curve, adverse weather conditions, or adverse road conditions) in time to warn the driver and avoid an accident.
Thus, an improved method of assisting a driver to negotiate a roadway, particularly curves in the roadway, is needed.